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UA Art and Art History Students Create City Bike Racks

If you ride your bicycle into downtown Tuscaloosa and you need a place to park it, look for the funky new bike rack at the intersection of 4th Street and 23rd Avenue.

The bike racks, with bright red curving shapes that undulate before your eyes, were designed by recent Art and Art History graduate Alli Sloan and built by Sloan and engineering-turned-studio art major Brandt Deeds for the City of Tuscaloosa. Sloan and Deeds are former and current students of sculpture professor Craig Wedderspoon. They also created sculptures for Nucor Children’s Charity Classic silent auction.

Bike Racks at 4th and 23rd designed by Alli Sloan Bike Racks at 4th and 23rd designed by Alli Sloan

City of Tuscaloosa officials asked Professor Wedderspoon if his sculpture students would design and build bike racks to go all over Tuscaloosa – and his students have accepted the challenge. The design in each location around town will be different. The next racks will be placed at Alberta Park and will be designed by Brandt Deeds. Deeds hopes to have them completed early in the spring of 2017.

Bike Racks at 4th and 23rd designed by Alli Sloan Bike Racks at 4th and 23rd designed by Alli Sloan

Images courtesy of Craig Wedderspoon.
Source: Professor Craig Wedderspoon, craig.wedderspoon@ua.edu or (205) 348-1898.
Contact: Rachel Dobson, communications specialist: rachel.dobson@ua.edu or (205) 348-1893.